Sarah A. Hampson (born May 6, 1958) is a Canadian author, columnist, and journalist. Since 1999, she has been writing for ''
The Globe and Mail'', a national Canadian newspaper, with her Interview column being nominated for a National Newspaper Award in 2000. Hampson joined ''The Globe and Mail'' as a permanent columnist and has been publishing multiple columns since then, including Generation Ex.
Early life and education
Sarah Hampson was born in 1958 in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
.
She has four siblings, whose father worked for a multinational company.
Her family frequently relocating during her childhood, living in
Switzerland as well as in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
and
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...
, Canada.
In Hampson's memoir ''Happily Ever After Marriage: There's Nothing Like Divorce to Clear the Mind'', she writes that she was close to her paternal and maternal grandmothers during her childhood and adult life.
Growing up, Hampson had an interest in reading and writing. One of Hampson's high school friends, stated to her, "
u've been talking about wanting to be a writer since you were like 15."
Hampson attended
Smith College
Smith College is a private liberal arts women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith and opened in 1875. It is the largest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite women's c ...
in
Northampton, Massachusetts
The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571.
Northampton is known as an a ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
, graduating in 1979 with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
in
English literature
English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...
.
“It’s not that I defined myself as a feminist but as a young woman." Hampson said about her time at Smith College.
Career
Following her graduation in 1979 from Smith College, Hampson worked in advertising as a
copywriter
Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or ...
and creative director in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
Halifax
Halifax commonly refers to:
*Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
* Halifax, West Yorkshire, England
*Halifax (bank), a British bank
Halifax may also refer to:
Places Australia
*Halifax, Queensland, a coastal town in the Shire of Hinchinbrook
*Halifax ...
, and
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
, as well as working for ''
Ted Bates'' advertising firm.
In 1990, after the birth of her third son, she left advertising.
In 1991, Hampson submitted a writing piece to ''The Global and Mail'' "Facts & Arguments" section, earning her first
byline
The byline (or by-line in British English) on a newspaper or magazine article gives the name of the writer of the article. Bylines are commonly placed between the headline and the text of the article, although some magazines (notably ''Reader ...
. The same here, she wrote a few
interior design
Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordin ...
stories for ''Canadian House and Home'' magazine and ''
Toronto Life
''Toronto Life'' is a monthly magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ''Toronto Life'' also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including ''Real Estate'', ''Stylebook'', ''Eati ...
''.
In 1993, Hampson officially started her journalism career. She wrote for ''
Toronto Life
''Toronto Life'' is a monthly magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ''Toronto Life'' also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including ''Real Estate'', ''Stylebook'', ''Eati ...
'', ''
Saturday Night Saturday Night may refer to:
Film, television and theatre Film
* ''Saturday Night'' (1922 film), a 1922 film directed by Cecil B. DeMille
* ''Saturday Nights'' (film), a 1933 Swedish film directed by Schamyl Bauman
* ''Saturday Night'' (1950 fil ...
'', ''
Chatelaine
Chatelaine may refer to:
*Chatelaine (chain), a set of short chains on a belt worn by women and men for carrying keys, thimble and/or sewing kit, etc.
* Chatelaine (horse), a racehorse
* ''Chatelaine'' (magazine), an English-language Canadian wom ...
'', ''
Report on Business
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it f ...
'' and ''
Canadian Art
Canadian art refers to the visual (including painting, photography, and printmaking) as well as plastic arts (such as sculpture) originating from the geographical area of contemporary Canada. Art in Canada is marked by thousands of years of hab ...
'', among other publications.
She has done interviews with high-profile individuals, some being
Isiah Thomas
Isiah Lord Thomas III (born April 30, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and coach who is an analyst for '' NBA TV''. The 12-time NBA All-Star was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History as well as the 75 Gre ...
, NBA basketball player
and
Emanuel Sandhu
Emanuel Sandhu (born November 18, 1980) is a Canadian figure skater and dancer. He is the 2004 Grand Prix Final champion and a three-time Canadian national champion.
Personal life
Sandhu was born on November 18, 1980 in Toronto, Ontario, Canad ...
, ''
So You Think You Can Dance
''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...
'' contestant.
“People are such interesting beings," Hampson says to ''the Ryerson Review of Journalism'' "there are so many things going on with them—what happened today, what happened yesterday, what they’re here to speak to you about, what their background is, what they’re going to do tomorrow."
Hampson has been praised for her work in ''The Global and Mail'', “What sets the interview column apart is Sarah’s willingness to go off-message and take her subject off-message,” says Kevin Siu, editor of the Globe and Mail's Life section, where Hampson’s columns appear.
In 2007, Hampson started "Generation Ex", a personal column about social contagion of divorce. She is described as ''The Globe and Mails "divorce expert". Following the popular column, in 2010, Hampson published ''Happily Ever After Marriage'', a memoir about her life and divorce.
In 2016, Hampson published ''Dr. Coo Solves The Problem with Pigeons'', a children's
picture book
A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...
.
Personal life
Sarah has three sons, Nick, Tait, and Luke.
After being married for 20 years, she divorced her husband and writes about divorce in her professional life.
Publications
*''Happily Ever After Marriage: There's Nothing Like Divorce to Clear the Mind'',
Knopf Canada
Random House of Canada was the Canadian distributor for Random House, Inc. from 1944 until 2013. On July 1, 2013, it amalgamated with Penguin Canada to become Penguin Random House Canada.
Company history
Random House of Canada was established i ...
2010,
*''Dr. Coo and the Pigeon Protest' 2018
References
External links
Sarah Hampson official webpageon ''The Globe and Mail''
Sarah Hampsonon
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...
Sarah Hampsonon
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hampson, Sarah
Living people
The Globe and Mail columnists
Writers from Montreal
Smith College alumni
Canadian women non-fiction writers
Canadian copywriters
Canadian columnists
Canadian women columnists
1958 births